Critter in the air duct

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  • atgcpaul
    Veteran Member
    • Aug 2003
    • 4055
    • Maryland
    • Grizzly 1023SLX

    Critter in the air duct

    I also posted this on another forum.

    At first I thought it was one of our dogs scratching at the door to get in, but there is definitely something in our house air duct trying to scratch its way out. I'm hearing the noise from the first floor kitchen register (mounted on the wall near the ceiling). The air handler is in the basement directly below. There are floor mounted registers on the second floor and none that lead to the attic so I think it's safe to assume it's trapped in the basement.

    I do catch the occasional mouse. Anyway, what are my options here? Video tape me opening up the air handler and then selling the hilarity that ensues to the highest paying tabloid news agency? I have access to lots of dry ice. I could drop pounds of dry ice pellets down the register and try to freeze/suffocate it (did this before to a mouse caught in the dog food bin) then go find it later? Let it die and live with the aroma? Call an exterminator? How much is that going to cost? Is this a job for an exterminator or HVAC guy?

    I'm wondering how it got in there in the first place. Maybe it got curious when walking across a floor vent, went in, and couldn't get back up and eventually found its way to the lowest point. We have two small kids so it wouldn't surprise me if they dropped food down one of those registers or a piece of dog food got swept down into a register and the mouse (assuming it's a mouse) found it's way down there.

    When I get home today (maybe with a bin of dry ice), I'll knock on the air handler and see if I hear any scratching.

    This is basically how I remember my air handler looking--except I have two returns entering from opposite sides--one from the 1st and 2nd floor and one from the basement. If a mouse is trapped in the system and found its way down here, it would have to be in the supply plenum, right? It couldn't get from there to the blower section (as marked in the picture) without making its way through the blower motor. I ask because we ran the AC last night and unless I have a very talented mouse, it couldn't have crossed through.

  • dbhost
    Slow and steady
    • Apr 2008
    • 9209
    • League City, Texas
    • Ryobi BT3100

    #2
    Not sure, but I will gladly trade you the one critter scratching inside your air ducts for the female racoon and her young that decided my siding was in their way, and my attic looks cozy. I have been trying to harass them out, I am concerned about capturing and dispatching momma as the young will likely stay in the attic for a while, die, and start stinking up the attic, so I really want them to leave on their own and let me patch my house...
    Please like and subscribe to my YouTube channel. Please check out and subscribe to my Workshop Blog.

    Comment

    • MBG
      Senior Member
      • Apr 2003
      • 945
      • Chicago, Illinois.
      • Craftsman 21829

      #3
      Birds in exhaust stack?

      Comment

      • atgcpaul
        Veteran Member
        • Aug 2003
        • 4055
        • Maryland
        • Grizzly 1023SLX

        #4
        Originally posted by dbhost
        Not sure, but I will gladly trade you the one critter scratching inside your air ducts for the female racoon and her young ..
        No deal

        Originally posted by MBG
        Birds in exhaust stack?
        Man that's a long way to go. I figured a bird would squawk or make some kind of noise. We only hear fast scraping/scratching.

        Wife is at home waiting for an exterminator. It's going to cost $ but I don't need the stress.

        Comment

        • atgcpaul
          Veteran Member
          • Aug 2003
          • 4055
          • Maryland
          • Grizzly 1023SLX

          #5
          Originally posted by MBG
          Birds in exhaust stack?
          Originally posted by atgcpaul


          Man that's a long way to go. I figured a bird would squawk or make some kind of noise. We only hear fast scraping/scratching.

          Wife is at home waiting for an exterminator. It's going to cost $ but I don't need the stress.
          I guess I'm eating crow or is that starling? Wife called me and said the exterminator flushed the animal out of the air exchanger and it turned out to be an adult starling. It immediately went for the (closed) basement window, but then somehow found it's way between the finished basement studwall/drywall and concrete foundation wall. He can't get it out now. That wall is over 10' long and there isn't much of a gap.

          He didn't want to charge us for the visit since he didn't actually catch the bird ($185), but he did seem to indicate he wanted to be paid for his time (?). He said he'd come back if the starling didn't make it out the window (now open) and try to catch it with a net for the balance.

          Of couse now I also need to get someone to repair the screen on the top of the roof. No way in H*** am I getting on the second story. Very steep roof.

          Comment

          • JimD
            Veteran Member
            • Feb 2003
            • 4187
            • Lexington, SC.

            #6
            Our new-to-us house (46 years old) had the dryer vented into the chimney when we bought it. I changed that but when I disconnected the old setup I found a metal flue pipe filled with lint and birds. The birds were all long dead. I don't know if the birds went in looking for lint and couldn't get out or what. I capped the flue but haven't put a screen on the top yet. It's a long way up there and the roof pitch is 10 in 12.

            Comment

            • capncarl
              Veteran Member
              • Jan 2007
              • 3564
              • Leesburg Georgia USA
              • SawStop CTS

              #7
              A dead bird lost it the wall might not even make a detectable smell, nothing like a mouse that seems to have infinate smell capabilities. I am not sure I would tear the wall apart unless you have to.
              A very large tom cat tried to take up residence in my housboat when I had it in drydock. After chasing him around with a net he excaped between the hull and inside walls and got trapped somewhere in the dark nowhere land. I cut several new "access holes" in the wall and was able to see his backside and pushed in an old fiberglass fishing pole and poked him several times to get him to move. He ran out the back door and we all celebrated our victory, only to see him circle back and try to get in the front door. 5 doses of lead from my ole Remington 1100 convinced him to live elsewhere.

              Comment

              • atgcpaul
                Veteran Member
                • Aug 2003
                • 4055
                • Maryland
                • Grizzly 1023SLX

                #8
                The exterminator shoved a stick into the space to push back the insulation so the bird would have an easier escape route. He told her he could see its feathers poking out into the space when he left. I think he left a little after 3pm. We left the basement window open all day yesterday until about 8pm. My backyard looked like wild kingdom yesterday with all manner of birds flying around and landing on the patio--not far from the window. I was really hoping I wasn't going to get more unwanted visitors.

                Before I inspected it yesterday (fully prepared to have an angry bird all up in my face), I kicked the wall several times and listened for rustling, and hearing none, I opened up the bottom basement door and looked in. I didn't see anything, and unless the bird pushed even further into the gap, for now I'm going to assume he flew out. We also didn't hear any flapping around or commotion in the basement last night or this morning.

                Apparently when the exterminator arrived, he called three managers to get their opinion on what could be in there. Squirrel, raccoon, bird, rat, or mouse. He was REALLY hoping it wouldn't be a raccoon or rat because apparently they attack. My wife waited upstairs and said about the time he got the furnace cover off, she heard a "WHOA!" and then a whole lot of racket.

                The exterminator is coming back today for a follow-up, no extra fee.

                I'm waiting for a call back from a chimney sweep company to repair/replace my chimney cap. Since I live in a historic district, the cost of that repair (including labor) might be tax deductible next year.

                Comment

                • atgcpaul
                  Veteran Member
                  • Aug 2003
                  • 4055
                  • Maryland
                  • Grizzly 1023SLX

                  #9
                  Well, I'm surprised we haven't a bird down in the furnace before this week. The guy replaced the cap this morning and the old cap had no screen.

                  Comment

                  • billwmeyer
                    Veteran Member
                    • Feb 2003
                    • 1858
                    • Weir, Ks, USA.
                    • BT3000

                    #10
                    birds

                    I've had birds get into my dryer vent and I get a very excited wife. Last time I had to take the dryer outside to make sure the bird stayed outside. Lint builds up on the outside flap of the vent and let's them in. My vent goes up through the ceiling then outside, so when the darn Bird goes down it can't get out. That reminds me. I need to check that vent again!
                    "I just dropped in to see what condition my condition was in."-Kenny Rogers

                    Comment

                    • jdon
                      Established Member
                      • Feb 2010
                      • 401
                      • Snoqualmie, Wash.
                      • BT3100

                      #11
                      Last time I had to take the dryer outside to make sure the bird stayed outside. Lint builds up on the outside flap of the vent and let's them in.
                      You might want to think about replacing the vent with one that includes a pest screen- or make your own out of 1/2" hardware cloth. Make sure it's removable, since lint will build up over time, but it's got to be easier than moving the dryer outside

                      Comment

                      • billwmeyer
                        Veteran Member
                        • Feb 2003
                        • 1858
                        • Weir, Ks, USA.
                        • BT3000

                        #12
                        I have a problem with lint collecting on the pest screen. I have to get on a ladder to clean it. Right now I can take a 1 x 2 and scrape off the lint from the ground. Still the pest screen would be better than the Bird. I recently had a knee replacement, so ladders are out for awhile.
                        "I just dropped in to see what condition my condition was in."-Kenny Rogers

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